Donya is Executive Director of Marketing, Communications and Private Sector Partnerships at the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and JAX District; two Ministry of Culture initiatives central to Saudi Arabia’s cultural transformation where she leads brand, audience and partnership strategy for some of the region’s most ambitious cultural platforms.
Her two-decade career spans journalism, strategy, government advisory and leadership roles at JWT, Weber Shandwick, Landor and Brunswick Group across the Gulf, Europe and North America, including counsel to heads of state, ministers and CEOs in complex geopolitical contexts and periods of intense transformation. She is recognized for building institutional and reputational strategies that connect creative industries with policy agendas and private sector investment.
Named among the region’s top communications leaders by Communicate Magazine in 2024 and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, she holds an MBA from London Business School and is completing a Master’s in International Relations at the University of Cambridge. She is a keynote speaker, writer and juror at international strategy and creative effectiveness awards, and serves on the boards of pioneering creative industry and social development initiatives. She is fluent in English, Italian and Arabic.